GAVAGAI

[Gavagai]

As I remember, on high difficulties in single player it is actually not recommended to build cottages - you are supposed to capture them from AIs.

 I did not know this, but it makes sooo much sense.

So what are your plans   ?

PEACE. I'll go MC -> Machinery (via Engineer bulb) -> Calendar -> Priesthood -> Mono -> Monarchy. By that moment I will have a Great Scientist and start golden age. Revolt to Serfdom and will cover everything with windmills supported by farms. After that pick up other essential techs then go Guilds. Might detour to Philosophy for Angkor Wat and a great prophet for the shrine. Most likely directions of expansion are Amica and Nauf, both are in some way vulnerable and promise good spoils. Ginger is the main rival for winning by far but I am not particularly worried about him specifically because I have a secret weapon.
I think this all can work but on the condition I am left unmolested for, like, 30 turns. This is why I want peace at all cost and won't be tempted by any adventures Commodore is offering to me.

[Gavagai]

A huge stack of >20 Numidians SD kept at my border moved somewhere - I lost track of it. Can be very good or very bad.

[Gavagai]

Also, it pisses me off to now end that nobody wants to trade me anything for my gold. Like, Commodore has spare Silk and spare Dyes and preferred to trade them to Nauf for some trash that is objectively worse.

[Mjmd]

Ginger is the main rival for winning by far but I am not particularly worried about him specifically because I have a secret weapon.

You can't just go dropping comments like this. TELL TELL TELL.   please

[Gavagai]

Ginger is the main rival for winning by far but I am not particularly worried about him specifically because I have a secret weapon.

You can't just go dropping comments like this. TELL TELL TELL.   please

Hehe, I think I'll keep you in suspense for a bit. But you can speculate in the lurker thread, would be fun to read after the game ends.

[Gavagai]

Offered Amica to attack Nauf together in 15 turns and offered Nauf to attack Amica together in 15 turns. Mainly to fish for information to what extent they are now hostile to each other.

[Gavagai]

I found SD's stack. Disappointing. I hoped he would join Commodore against Ginger, that would be great news for me (and would make sense to him unless he is saving strength for dogpiling me). But he is just messing with me it looks like.

[Gavagai]

I think I am fucked. Amica and Nauf ignored my offers and Amica actually moved catapults towards my border in response. They seem to have an alliance with each other. And I cannot really fight any of them because SD has a giant stack sufficient to paralyze my entire army (I will sacrifice anything in the east to hold Gorbachev - my Pyramids city on our border). It was a mistake for me not to go for Construction, I am now rightly perceived as a paper tiger. I decided I have the luxury to skip it because I assumed that Amica and Nauf are destined to be enemies because of the city Amica took. Now I am going to pay for this mistake dearly.
I made some desperate diplomatic attempts to fix the situation. I once again offered Amica to be friends against Nauf. I think he objectively has much more to gain from splitting him but maybe he sees me as much weaker. I sent a complex charade to SD trying to convey the idea that he is not going to get Gorbachev because I will defend it at all cost. On the other hand, right now he has a perfect opportunity to take a city from Ginger at their border and I will not protest. I wasn't able to think of anything to offer to Nauf because I do not understand his thinking at all. It might be though that he is a party for whom dogpiling me makes the most strategic sense.
But I think it all be in vain because without Catapults my army is simply too weak to make anything I say matter.

[Gavagai]

Amicalola is currently online and he whipped 5 times already. I guess this is on.
Btw, Naufragar pretty much does not build army at all but I think he has the most to gain from the impending war, I am not going to even try fighting him.

[Gavagai]

I understood what is so strange about Amica. Why he seems desperate to fight the war? He has more cities than everyone else, lots of land and a long-term threat in the face of Ginger. he is not really threatened by anyone, given that both I and Nauf are friendly. It would make sense for him to sit back, grow tall and, above all, REVOLT TO SERFDOM - that would do wonders to his economy. I would understand on his part an opportunistic war to snipe a city or two from me but he is whipping like his survival is at stake. Does not make sense at all.